What is faith? The Baltimore Catechism gives a very simple definition of faith as the first of the three theological virtues: “Faith is a Divine virtue by which we firmly believe the truths which God has revealed on the authority … Continue reading
Category: Spiritual Life
Are the Works of Mercy Ever Obligatory?
Two questions about “mercy” were recently asked of me. Since we are soon to embark on the “Year of Mercy” proclaimed by Pope Francis, and since there is much confusion about the subject in general, I thought it worthy of … Continue reading
Act and Potency in the Christian Life
In the Tuesday night Philosophy group that has been meeting since this past summer, we are now more than halfway through the course on Cosmology. We recently covered the subject of act and potency — a couple of simple words … Continue reading
Why Is Total Consecration the Remedy to Our Ills?
The following is an excerpt from my recent conference talk. I am probably not alone — I hope I am not — in considering much of devotional literature a bit tiresome when it presents one or another special devotion as if … Continue reading
Scandal! Heresy! And Grace!
When considering the multiple scandals and heresies besetting the Church in our time, three Biblical verses come immediately to mind: “And whosoever shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in me; it were better for him that a … Continue reading
The Holy Rosary and Spiritual Childhood
Happy feast day Blessed Mother of the Rosary! It was called in England, Our Lady’s Psalter and also Our Lady’s Beads. The early Christians repeated simple prayers, Paters and Aves, by moving their thumb along a beaded string. Bede, in … Continue reading
Marian Consecration: A Little History
To whet the appetites of our readers for our conference theme, I present here a small chunk of my own talk, which is the “title cut” of the conference, since it has the same name: “Total Consecration to Mary: The … Continue reading
The Faith of Mary
The other day I was speaking to a priest about the challenges of the apostolate today. In the bleak modern landscape, where so much militates against revealed religion (and even common sense), “You have to have the faith of Abraham and the … Continue reading
Perseverance: a Graduation Speech
The following is a brief introductory speech I gave at IHM School’s graduation this past Sunday. Readers should know that our school in rural southern New Hampshire is very small. We had one graduate this year — a fine young man who … Continue reading
To the Men
On Saturday, April 25, I was one of three speakers at the Napa Valley Catholic Men’s Conference. My two talks were entitled “Religious Liberty vs. Religious Right” and “Montfortian Masculinity” (those links will take you to our store site, where … Continue reading
The Drama of Holy Week
Contrary to custom, I’m reposting/resending this piece I wrote for Holy Week four years ago. A blessed Holy Week, Triduum, and Easter to all our readers! If the Church’s liturgical calendar were a temple of time consecrated to God, what we are … Continue reading
Votive Mass for Peace on Sanguinary ‘Roe’ Anniversary
The Mass propers we prayed here at Saint Benedict Center this morning were not those for the martyr saint of today, Saint Vincent; nor were they for that other Saint Vincent whose feast falls today: Saint Vincent Pallotti. They instead … Continue reading
Looking on Jesus, the Prince of Peace
Far from being what the world thinks it is, namely, the shopping season between Black Friday and Christmas Day, Advent is the Church’s time of penitential preparation for the feast of the Nativity. More than that, Advent prepares us for … Continue reading
Sanctity: Our Counterrevolutionary Grand Strategy
Here is the text of my talk from our recent Saint Benedict Center Conference. I. Introduction My talk today will be a brief elucidation of the following thesis: “The comprehensive and adequate grand strategy for today’s Catholic Counterrevolutionary is the … Continue reading
Salvation Here and Now
Our holy Faith forbids us to say that our salvation is entirely assured in this life and that we cannot fall from grace before we come to our particular judgment and accordingly be damned. The Council of Trent labels such … Continue reading
